Conversations with Anthony Wayne

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Wayne.

Hi Anthony, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My life has always seemed like it was setting me up for a career in Entertainment Production. From as early as I can remember, our street in Camarillo would have a block party. I would show up hours before and help the band set up and make sure everything was perfect for the yearly festivities. I attended middle school on a Military Base in Sicily, where I developed a strong interest in DJing and performed short sets at a local Teen Club. By 8th grade, I had my first official contracted event for a school dance. By 10th grade, I had my first official DJ company providing entertainment for school dances and private events. As I grew my DJ/Entertainment company in High School, I started adding an inventory of lighting equipment to enhance my shows. As I became more fascinated with lighting design and the technical programming aspect, I realized that I enjoyed working more behind the scenes than I did as a DJ.

In a bold move, I decided to sell all my DJ equipment, bought more lighting equipment, and started offering services to a local entertainment company. What began as a one-man show in 2002 providing small lighting setups for local DJs and bands turned into a full-time operation employing about a dozen part-time personnel, including friends from high school. Over the years, this company proved to be very successful at providing top-quality lighting services to the D.C.-Metropolitan area. As my career grew, I wanted to venture out of events and into concerts. Situations aligned in my life; I decided to seek more significant opportunities and left my position as Director of the company in 2010. I put everything I owned into a moving truck and got my best friend to drive across the country with me to California. We had quite the adventure along the way, and when we arrived in California, I landed in Ventura. When I got here, I didn’t know anyone in the industry, and finding a job in lighting proved difficult. I called and sent resumes to over 50 companies throughout Southern California in hopes of establishing my career as a Programmer and Lighting Designer. I got no response.

After months of persistently following up and not giving up, I was hired to work as the Head of Control department at a local lighting shop, prepping equipment for major tours. I ended up leaving this employer to have my second shoulder surgery performed so I could safely work. Surgery recovery took about eight months before I was approved by the medical staff to return to “light duty” work. Around this time, I attended the Concert Masters conference at USC in hopes of networking and work opportunities. During this conference, I met Bob Harmon of Eggshell Lighting from Honolulu, HI. We discussed his possible need for a programmer and lighting designer. I gave him my card but thought nothing more of it than making a network connection. While attending this conference, I took a 2-day class on a new (at the time) lighting software and control interface that promised to be the next “big thing.” Following the conference, I had not gotten any work, so I spent most of my time at home learning the new lighting software. Little did I know this would become my future career and livelihood. Out of the blue one evening, my phone rang around 6:45 PM while I was making dinner. It was a Hawaii number.

On the other end was Bob, asking me if I was still interested in programming a show in Hawaii. I said I was intrigued and asked when the work would start. He said tomorrow, and “I’ll put you on a redeye flight to Hawaii tonight, in about 3 hours.” Having no commitments and being single, I decided to take a chance on the opportunity. I threw some stuff in a bag, got in my car to the airport, and got on the plane. Mind you, this was a week before Thanksgiving 2011, and I had told my mom I’d be home for the Holiday. Following the successful opening of the show for which I was brought to Hawaii to program, I was hired full time as Director of Eggshell Lighting. Needless to say, I didn’t make it home for the Holidays and would return later in January to finalize moving permanently to Honolulu.

During my time with Eggshell, we opened a very popular Honolulu Nightclub called the Republik. After opening, I became one of the in-house Lighting Designers and Programmers. Throughout my time in Hawaii, I worked on many fantastic concerts with notable artists such as Ludacris, Steve Aoki, Blackstreet, and Childish Gambino, to name a few. Unfortunately, I got severely injured while prepping a show and had to have a third shoulder surgery, which caused me to leave work again. Recovery took almost a year. When I was cleared for work, I started freelancing and working as Visual Director under my mentor (the house Lighting Designer) Jon “Pudge” Nakamura at the Republik. I really enjoyed diving into the new areas of design through video content. One day at work, I got a call for an opportunity to work on a local Circus Variety Show in 2014. The plan was to mount an “Outer-Island-Preview-Tour” on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island of Hawaii in a 1200-set European style circus tent. All the while, our permanent venue, a 5-million dollar showroom at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, was under construction.

After a few months of our Production team attempting to secure locations, we produced a show in a Hilton ballroom that I Lighting Designed. The performance packed the ballroom every night, drawing crowds from all over the island, tourists and locals alike. Once our showroom was completed, we closed the ballroom show and prepared the newest version of the Circus. They brought in a Lighting Designer from Vegas Cirque Du Soliel shows, and I programmed her visions into reality. After a few months, the production ran out of budget and, regrettably, closed due to lack of attendance. Although the show closed, I ended up meeting the love of my life while working there together. Afterward, my girlfriend and I chose to move off-Island, looking for more opportunities and rejoin an established industry network in Los Angeles. After first moving back in 2015, I fulfilled various roles such as Programmer for corporate events, Electrician, Rigger, Crew-Chief, and even Teacher, with the hopes of eventually programming and designing for live concerts and touring shows. Through the perfect mix of networking, timing, and hard work, I got the call I had been dreaming about since it all started for me. It was to Program and Operate Lighting and Visuals for an indie-pop band’s World Tour. I took the opportunity and traveled to 4 continents, over 90 locations, playing over 100 shows and festivals throughout 2019.

After returning home from tour, I worked on various events, including news broadcasts, product unveilings, and benefit galas. In March of 2020, I got a fantastic opportunity to work on the Faceit E-Games Live Competition as the programmer and show operator. Then COVID Hit. We quickly changed the show’s landscape to make it safe, sending the players to remote locations and limiting the crew to 10 or fewer people in the studio. Unlike many productions, I’m thankful that we could continue broadcast–wrapping mid-April finishing the season. As COVID worsened in Los Angeles, there was very little industry work during the summer months as most events were canceled due to social distancing. After a few months of self-driven training in quarantine, I started getting work opportunities on virtual broadcasts. This has included political broadcasts, holiday celebrations, music videos, and product demonstrations. One project that I really enjoyed was lighting Discovery Channel’s “Space X Live.”

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some of the struggles I’ve experienced throughout my career are my previously recurring on-the-job accidents resulting in injuries. The extended recovery times and reduction of mobility have been hard to overcome. Through hard work and therapy, I’ve been able to regain most of my abilities and strength, and never let this stop me from achieving my dreams. Additionally, it is always tricky to re-establish yourself in a new industry location, as most employers depend on local references. Despite having extensive work history, it doesn’t carry as much weight as who you’ve worked with.

Most don’t realize the most significant struggle (unless they’ve been in the freelance world) is maintaining enough income to survive while keeping yourself open for work. Some industry professionals must take odd or part-time jobs to make ends meet, which can ruin the potential for industry work. One of the industry’s greatest issues is that it has no allowance for personal relationships or work-life balance. You have to be willing to give up birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays and experience the strain it puts on your families, just for the ability to work in show business.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Lighting Designer and MA Programmer for Concerts and Live Events. This includes festivals, touring shows, award shows, corporate events, trade shows, and broadcasts. While my career started in traditional lighting, it expanded into live video operation and virtual environment lighting. I specialize in MA Software and integrating highly technical elements of show control into a creative design. I’m known for being very creative, organized, and adaptable, and I am known for always making the show happen. When people tell me I am easy going, I like to remind them that this job is hard enough and that I don’t want to add stress. My amiable nature, organization, punctuality, and diverse cultural upbringing set me apart from others. I am most proud of achieving my goal of going on a World Tour with a band as the Lighting and Video Director & Operator. The sheer amount of work was monumental, and the rewards of what we accomplished will always be with me.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
When we lived in Sicily, my grandparents came to visit. It was during my early days of DJing, and my grandpa wanted a demonstration. I put on some music, set off the fog machine, and turned on my strobe light, which was the extent of my inventory at the time. Despite my humble beginnings, he was incredibly proud. He would recall that day many years later and remind me where I started. He would always say how proud he was of my accomplishments.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.awlightingdesigns.com/
• Instagram: @awlightingdesigns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWLightingDesigns